Citi Bank N.A. Vs. Hiten P. Dalal & Ors.
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Head Note
The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 - Section 144
Restitution - Bonds which are to be restituted no longer available for restitution as they were sold by the appellant - Learned Special Court committed a clear error of law in ignoring a relevant fact that the bonds in question were a tradable commodity on the stock market and its value could be easily ascertained either on the date when the bonds were handed over to the Citibank or at the time when the Citibank sold the bonds to third parties - Such relevant facts should not have been lost sight of and no presumption should have been made that Canfina would have retained the bonds with it till the maturity period - There are sufficient materials available to lend credence to the view that in all eventuality Canfina would have sold the bonds because it was in such business and also because earlier when it had the option, it chose to hand over the bonds to Citibank instead of preferring the other option of paying its monetary value - Sale of the bonds by Citibank to third parties at a verifiable rate not being under dispute, it is evidently unjust to saddle Citibank with liability to repay the possible gains made by the third party or subsequent purchasers of the bonds - Held that the amount determined by the Special Court for restitution and payment by Citibank is unjust and is a result of error in not keeping under view the relevant facts as well as in applying the settled legal propositions for the purpose of compensating Canfina by way of restitution hence liable to be set aside.
The Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 - Section 144
Restitution - Held that the law on restitution under Section 144 vests expansive power in the Court but such power has to be exercised to ensure equity, fairness and justice for both the parties - For ascertaining the value of the property which is no longer available for restitution on account of sale etc., the Court should adopt a realistic and verifiable approach instead of resorting to hypothetical and presumptive value - In the context of restitution the Court should keep under consideration not only the loss suffered by the party entitled to restitution but also the gain, if any, made by other party who is obliged to make restitution - No unmerited injustice should be caused to any of the parties.
Topic(s)-Restitution - Bonds - Restitution order set aside